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RCS tops MCS; Stamford edges Andes

By John Bernhardt
It was a basketball chess match. The moves and counter moves evolved slowly over time, sometimes percolating almost painfully before exploding in bits and spurts of offensive maneuvering.

It was point, counterpoint, with tactics and initiatives employed by both sides. And, little space separated the combatants, the match demanding an added period before a winner emerged. Checkmate arrived when the final horn sounded and the visiting RCS Rockets prevailed, edging the Lady Blue Devils of Margaretville last Friday, 28-27, in overtime.

The first quarter was a game of cat and mouse with neither team able to gain a footing. After several minutes of scoreless action, Roxbury’s Kennedy Faraci’s soft, rolling left-handed hook shot finally broke the ice. Raeann Bond answered for the Blue Devils before Faraci turned a steal into a score for the visitors. Those were the only baskets during the first eight minutes of the game.

Devils in control
Margaretville set the tempo during the second period. The Blue Devils scored the first six points of the quarter giving the home team an 8-4 lead. A Faraci put back slowed the onslaught, but Margaretville’s Annette Hogan used a post pass from Tess Svoboda to hit an 18-foot shot from the wing, and Amy Filupeit swished a three-point field goal giving the Blue Devils the biggest lead of the game, 13-6. Roxbury’s Christina Chiarappa found the mark from the left of the key just before the half to narrow the home team’s advantage to five points at the intermission.

An eight-point Rockets’ surge to start the second half turned the contest Roxbury’s way. Brittney Keator scored two of the four Roxbury baskets during the rally. Keator’s spinning bank shot gave the Rockets a 16-13 lead.

After running down a long offensive rebound, Hogan put back a shot from the elbow. Filupeit followed with a running six-footer down the right side of the lane putting Margaretville back in front.

Filupeits score
Erin Filupeit was fouled putting up an offensive rebound early in the final period. The Blue Devils’ center hit one of two shots giving them a two-point lead. Allyce McIntosh threw in an eight-footer from the left baseline for Roxbury tying the score at 18-18.

An Amy Filupeit driving lay-up and a Raeann Bond turnaround swisher from beyond the left block gave Margaretville a four-point advantage.

Roxbury answered quickly. Faraci found Kendel Sprague cutting through the middle of the lane to cut the deficit to a single basket. When Faraci backed down the lane to the block on Roxbury’s next possession she scored and was fouled. The foul shot pushed Roxbury in front, 23-22. Only 1:55 remained in the game.

Annette Hogan buried a three-point shot 15 seconds later giving Margaretville back the lead. Bailey O’Donnell scored only one field goal in the game, but it was a big one. The Roxbury guard would steal an inbound pass and take it all the way for a lay-up, evening the score at 25-25 and sending the game into overtime.

Sprague struck first for Roxbury in overtime, banking a shot from the block with 1:45 to go. Margaretville tied the game when Raeann Bond stole the ball and flipped a pass to Erin Filupeit. Filupeit found Hogan just outside the paint and the sophomore guard put the teams even again at 27-27 with 40.7 seconds remaining on the clock.
A Sprague foul shot would be the game winner after she was fouled putting back an offensive rebound. She missed her first attempt, but hit the second, giving the Rockets a one-point victory.

Andes girls
Andes senior forward Ashley Terry continues to provide the Mountaineers with steady play on the hardwoods. Terry netted 17 points Friday night but it was not enough as Andes dropped a 49-41 decision to Stamford on their home court.

Foul shots played a huge role in the outcome. Andes scored one more field goal in the contest than their guests, but Stamford sent a steady stream of players to the foul line throughout the contest. The visitors took 32 charity shots to Andes’ 14 scoring nine more points than Andes at the line.
The contest was close throughout. Andes inched ahead, 11-10, in the first quarter but fell behind 26-22 at the half. Each team added 10 points during the third period with Stamford besting the Mountaineers by four points in the final quarter for the eight-point margin.